Donald Trump issued a pardon and sentence switch to rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black before Joe Biden took office.
President Trump issued 73 pardons and commuted 70 sentences on Wednesday morning as he prepared to step down.
Among those forgiven or commuted were Wayne and Black, whose real names are Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. and Bill Kapri, respectively. Both were convicted of possession of a weapon.
Wayne pleaded guilty in December to the federal district court for illegally carrying a loaded gold-plated .45 caliber gun while traveling to Florida in a private jet in 2019. Carter’s bag content also included small amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and oxycodone, according to the US attorney.
Because of a previous firearm conviction in New York in 2009, Carter was banned from owning a firearm. He was forgiven by the president.
LIL WAYNE LOADED WITH POSSESSION OF FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION BY A CONDITIONED ART FLAIR OF 2019 INCIDENT
Lil Wayne received a pardon from Donald Trump.
(AP Photo / Peter Kramer, Archive)
“Mr. Carter pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted criminal due to a conviction more than 10 years ago,” said the White House. “Deion Sanders, who … wrote in support of this forgiveness, calls Mr. Wayne ‘a provider for his family, a friend for many, a man of faith, a natural giver for the less fortunate, a path maker , [and] a game changer. ‘”
The pardon comes months after the five Grammy-winning presenter outraged some of his fans for being kind to Trump before the November election. On October 29, Wayne shared a photo of him smiling next to Trump after meeting with him about his administration’s “Platinum Plan” designed to create jobs and opportunities in the black community.
“I just had a great meeting with @realdonaldtrump @potus, in addition to what he has done so far with criminal reform, the platinum plan will give the community real dominance,” Wayne’s tweet read at the time. “He listened to what we had to say today and guaranteed that he will and will be able to do that.”
LIL WAYNE REVEALS ‘GREAT MEETING’ WITH TRUMP, PROMOTING THAT TWITTER USERS RESPOND
Meanwhile, Kapri, who the White House called “a prominent artist and community leader,” had his 46-month sentence commuted. He was found guilty of making false statements in a federal document when trying to buy a firearm.
He was sentenced in 2019 to more than three years in prison for falsifying documents to obtain firearms at a gun store in Miami, Florida. He obtained a 9 mm pistol, a .380 caliber pistol and a semi-automatic Mini Draco gun. Authorities said one of the weapons was found at the March shooting site in Pompano Beach, although he was not charged in the case.
Bradford Cohen, who worked with rappers on his pardon, told Fox News that he is “happy” for his clients.
“I think President Trump and his government have been tireless advocates on behalf of the African American community. These pardons are a perfect example of that government pursuing its reforms and commitments. I thank President Trump for his defense of justice reform. . I’m happy for my two clients, “said Cohen.
It didn’t take long for people to access social media to share their reactions to the duo’s big news.
“I’m happy for @ KodakBlack1k! #ItsRight #TrumpPardon #AnotherBrotherWithAStory #BigTings,” a user wrote.
“Trump had nothing to gain, but he still forgave Lil ‘Wayne and Kodak Black,” someone else wrote.
“forgiveness of weezy trump and kodak black is good”, a third user noted.
“Trump forgave 140 people on his last day in office. Including Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. That man is a gangster,” added another.
Others, however, were not thrilled to learn that rappers managed to avoid their sentences.
“I’m crazy because I wanted the Kodak Black to rot in prison. I hate all of you rooting for his release, you are all parasites and make me SICK!” a particularly upset user wrote.
“Well, I think Lil ‘Wayne’s endorsement was worth it, after all,” someone else wrote.
“So that’s why Dwayne Carter shone for Trump,” other added.
Fox News previously reported that Wayne and Black were on a list of 50 to 100 pardons that the president planned to issue in the last days of his government. They join other notable figures who received forgiveness from the president on Wednesday, such as Steve Bannon and former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
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Presidential pardon being the final act of a president who is stepping down is traditional in the United States. Barack Obama, for example, has forgiven or granted clemency to almost 2,000 people over his two terms, many of which occurred in the last week of his presidency in 2017.
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George Bush, for his part, did the same for almost 200 people in his two terms.